Livestock or other animals may be herded and controlled in pens or holding areas. A squeeze chute is commonly used to restrict the movement of an animal to allow for veterinary care, examination, marking, or branding of the animal. Currently, conventional crowding alleys are often used to route the animals from a holding pen to the squeeze chute. Numerous problems arise when the crowding alley is too wide or too narrow for a particular animal. For example, running calves, sheep, ewes, or goats through a crowding alley sized for adult cattle leaves significant excess room around the animals within the crowding alley. Excess room within a crowding ally may allow the animals to turn around, turn to the side, climb onto adjacent animals, lay down, jump, or flip over. The risks resulting from improper movement and positioning of the animals becomes compounded because the misplaced animal can then injure adjacent animals or cause them to also become misplaced. Worse yet, redirecting or aiding a misplaced animal may require a rancher to enter the crowding alley to assist the animal. An improved system of routing animals through a crowding alley is needed to protect animals and ranchers better than the currently available crowding alleys.